Door motor operator



May 19,1970 B. J.'SIVIN ET AL 3,512,302

v v noon MOTOR OPERATOR Filed Nov. 12, 1968 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I.

INVENTORS BERNARD J. SIVIN JULIUS KAPIK M vm Attorneys Ma 19',i97o v g Q. V.N'ETAL 3,512,302 I noon Moron OPERATOR Filed Nov. 12 1968 s SheecsQSheet 2 INVENTORS BERNARD J. SIVIN JULIUS KA P11;

L Attorneys May 19, 1970 J.SI V IN T 3 1 ,302

p003 MOTOR OPERATOR 7 Filed Nov. 12. 1968 5T, v 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS F l BERNARD J. SIVIN JULIUS KAPI'K Attorneys United States Patent 3,512,302 DOOR MOTOR OPERATOR Bernard J. Sivin, Commack, and Julius Kapik, Elmont, N.Y., assignors to North American Winfield Door Corp., Lindenhurst, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Nov. 12, 1968, Ser. No. 774,883 Int. Cl. Ef /00 US. Cl. 49139 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A door operatively arranged for interchangeable motor powering and hand operation intervals of operation, wherein the limit switch that operates, in a well under stood manner, to terminate operation of the motor during a motor powering interval whenever the door attains either its fully open or closed position is also maintained operational to accurately reflect the positional condition of the door during hand operation; thus resetting of the limit switch is not required despite frequent shifting between motor powering and hand operation of the door.

The present invention relates generally to overhead doors and more particularly to improvements in a door motor operator.

Many overhead door installations include a motor operator, i.e., a motor operatively arranged to urge the door through opening and closing movements. As generally understood, the controls for the motor operator further include a limit switch mean-s or mechanism which, during motor powering operation of the door, terminates motor operation whenever the door attains either its fully open or closed position. This ability of the limit switch to accurately reflect the conditional position of the door is not maintained, however, during hand operation of the door apparently as not being necessary since, at this time, the motor of the operator does not function. In accordance with present practice, after each interval of hand operation of the door the limit switch is reset so that it functions properly during motor powering operation.

Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to simplify operational maintenance of a door motor operator as well as to overcome other shortcomings of the prior art. Specifically, it is an object to obviate resetting of the limit switch of a door motor operator during conversion between intervals of hand operation and motor powering operation of the door.

A door motor operator demonstrating objects and advantages of the present invention includes an appropriate arrangement for motor powering operation as well as hand operation of an overhead door, a clutch for selectively completing a driving connection for the door to the motor to achieve said motor powering operation, and a limit switch means which is operational to reflect the positional condition of the door during hand operation as well as during motor powering operation of the door such that resetting of the limit switch is unnecessary despite frequent changing of the manner of operating the door.

The above brief description, as well as further objects, features and advantages of the present invention, will be more fully appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of a presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative embodiment in accordance with the present invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational 'view illustrating a door with a motor operator according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial front elevational view, on a greatly enlarged scale, of the motor operator, portions thereof being broken away to better illustrate internal structural features;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view, in longitudinal section, of the clutch of the motor operator illustrating internal structural features thereof; and

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view taken in the direction of the arrows along line 4-4 in FIG. 3.

Reference is now made to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1, wherein there is shown a conventional overhead door 10, formed of hingedly connected door body members 10a, appropriately mounted for vertical movement 'in a door opening 12a bounded by opposite side frames 12. As generally understood, door 10 is supported on a horizontally oriented shaft .(not shown) journaled for rotation in a housing 14, the door supporting shaft extending from the housing at one end, as at I16, and having appropriately rigidly mounted thereon a sprocket gear 18. To provide motor powering operation of the door 10, there is provided a motor operator, generally designated 20, including, as generally understood, a motor 20a operatively connected to a gear reducer 20b, the latter having a horizontally oriented power takeofi shaft 20c. As clearly shown in FIG. 1, but as will be described in greater detail subsequently herein, supported for rotation on the power takeoff shaft 200 are two sprockets 24, 26, sprocket 24 cooperating with previously noted sprocket 18 and sprocket 26 with a further sprocket 27 of a limit switch means or mechanism 28. Specifically, a first endless loop of chain 30 is entrained about the cooperating sprockets 18, 24 such that rotational power of the motor 20a is transmitted via the gear reducer 20b and its power takeoff shaft 200 to raise and lower the door 10 through opening and closing movements in the door opening 12a. Another endless loop of chain 32 is entrained about the cooperating sprockets 26, 27 such that during operation of the motor, rotation of the power takeoff shaft 20c is also transmitted via the chain drive 32 to the limit switch means 28. In this manner, and as generally understood, the limit switch 28 is effective in terminating operation of the motor 20a whenever the door 10 reaches either its fully open or fully closed position in the door owning 12a.

The foregoing is conventional and constitutes only the environment for the present invention, which resides, more particularly, in an improved means, as will be subsequently described in greater detail, of maintaining the just described controlling relation of the limit switch means 28 with respect to the overhead door position, even during conversion to hand operation of the door. This is significant since if this relationship is not maintained, when the door is then converted back to motor operation, the limit switch 28, unless reset, will not be eflective in sensing the fully open or closed position of the door 10 and thereby function, as required, to terminate operation of the motor 20a when these extreme door positions are reached.

To better understand the improved construction by which the positional condition of the door 10 is sensed by limit switch 28 despite frequent shifting between motor and hand operation of the door 10, reference should be made to the showing of FIGS. 2-4. Specifically, as best shown in FIG. 3, the powering shaft 200 keyed, as at 34, and thus powers in rotation a cylindrical base member 36a of a clutch 3-6. As will now be described, clutch 36 is effective in completing the driving connection of shaft 200 to the previously noted sprockets 24, 26 during intervals of motor operation of the door 10; when clutch 36 is not used to complete this driving connection, however, the sprockets 24, 26 are freely rotatable about the axis of the shaft 20c relative to the stationary clutch base 36a. To the above end, sprocket 24, as best illustrated in FIG. 3,-has an enlarged central opening24a.

which, as will be subsequently described, facilitates the mounting of the sprocket about the base member 36a despite the presence of structural elements of the clutch 36. Sprocket 26, on the other hand, has a smaller central opening 26a and, in practice, is appropriately journaled for rotation relative to the base member 36a on a bearing ring 38. The two'sprockets 24, 26 are interconnected so as to rotate simultaneously by transversely oriented circumferentially spaced bolt and spacing sleeve arrangements 40, 42 respectively, such circumferential spacing being clearly illustrated in FIG. 4.

Assembled upon the base 36a. is a conical spacing member 44 which seats in a shoulder formed by an enlarged diameter section 36b at one end of the body 36a and disposed adjacent thereto is a pressure disk 36c, and then the previously noted sprocket 26 mounted on the bearing ring 38 interposed between a complementary pair of clutch friction disks 36d, 362. Completing the construction of the clutch 36 is another pressure disk 36 and also an end disk 36g in threaded engagement with an end threaded section 3611 of the clutch base member 36a. From the foregoing, it should be readily appreciated that to provide the sprocket 26 with its interposed position between the friction disks 36b, 36s, it is necessary to dispose the interconnected arrangement of sprockets 24, 26 about the base 36a after the positioning of the elements 44, 36c and 36d thereon, and for this reason, sprocket 24 has the enlarged medial opening 24a so that it can be slipped past these elements during assembly of the clutch 36.

Also as clearly shown, threadably engaged in an appropriate opening in the end disk 36g is a cooperatingly threaded spindle 46a of a pressure appiying member 46 of the clutch 36. That is, after disposing the structural elements in the order just named about the clutch base 36a, end disk 36g is threadably manipulated along the threaded section 36h so that the interconnected arrangement of sprockets 24, 26 are just barely free to rotate relative to the base member 36a. However, when it is desired to complete the driving connection between the powering shaft 200 and the sprockets 24, 26, the user merely uses the convenient hand grip 46b and manipulates the member 46 in that direction of rotation which results in the spindle 46a being projected against the adjacent pressure plate 36f to, in turn, result in the sprocket 26 being grippingly engaged on opposite sides by the clutch friction disks 36d, 36c. As a consequence, the interconnected sprockets 24, 26 then rotate in unison with the clutch base 36a, which, as previously noted, is keyed to the shaft 200. Further, as already noted, rotation of sprocket 24 results in the door being urged through opening or closing movement by the chain drive 30 while the limit switch means 28 senses each positional condition of the door by virtue of the chain connection 42 to the limit switch 28.

Although the operation and construction of the limit switch 28 is conventional and well understood, for completeness sake, it will now be described with specific reference to FIG. 2. Limit switch means 28, as clearly illustrated in FIG. 2, includes a housing having a back wail 28a mounting two spaced-apart limit switches 47, 48 which, as generally understood, are part of the electrical circuitry for the motor a and are actuated to cause termination of the operation of the motor 20a when the door 10 attains either its fully open or fully closed position. Also as generally understood, limit switch means 28 includes a horizontally oriented shaft 28b on one extending end of which the previously noted sprocket 27 is mounted and on the remaining threaded shaft portion there are threadably disposed switch actuating members '50, 52, each having an appropriate slot (not shown) accommodating an upstanding panel 54 which is effective to hold the members 50, 52 against rotation and thereby cause longitudinal movement of these members along the axis of the shaft 28b upon rotation of the shaft. In this manner, depending upon the direction of rotation of the shaft 28b, one of the'members 5G or 52 ultimately makes contact with one of the switches 47, 48 and is effective in terminating operation of the motor 20a. Naturally, the position of the members 50, 52 relative to the switches 47, 48 must reflect the positional condition of the door 10. That is, when the door is not quite but almost in its fully open position, the appropriate switch-actuating member must almost be in contact with the appropriate switch that will terminate operation of the motor when the door subsequently attains its fully open position. During hand operation of the door this relationship between the switch means 28 and the positional condition of the door is not a necessary requirement since during this interval the motor 20a is not operating; but on the other hand, if this relationship is disturbed during this interval, then prior to converting to motor powering operation of the door, it is necessary to reset the limit switch 28 to again establish the proper relationship between the members 50, 52 and the switches 47, 43. It is therefore an important contribution of the present invention that even during intervals of hand operation of the door, the limit switch means 28 continues to accurately reflect the positional condition of the door.

Specifically, from the description already provided it should be readily appreciated that to disconnect the driving connection between the motor 20a and the door 10 it is necessary only to turn the pressure applying element 46 in the appropriate direction which eliminates the driving friction exerted by the friction disks 36d, 36:: against the sprocket 26. As a consequence, sprocket 26 is then free to rotate about the then stationary supporting shaft 20c, as is sprockets 24 which is rigidly connected to sprocket 26. Thus, during hand operation, the user can urge the door 10 through either opening or closing movement and, in the process, will cause rotational movement of sprocket 18, which rotational movement is transmitted through the chain drive 30 to sprocket 24 and thus to interconnected sprocket 26. Rotation of sprocket 26, in turn, is transmitted via the chain 32 to the limit switch means 28 and thus maintains, even during hand operation of the door 10, the necessary relationship of the limit switch means 28 to the positional condition of the door. As a consequence, when conversion is subsequently made to motor powering operation of the door, there is no need to reset the limit switch means 28.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in the foregoing disclosure, and in some instances some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a door movably mounted in a door opening, a motor including a motor shaft operatively arranged to normally urge said door through opening and closing movements in said door opening, limit switch means having an operative controlling relation with said motor so as to normally terminate operation thereof at the completion of said door opening and closing movements, and the improvement for maintaining said operative controlling relation of said limit switch means during intervms of hand operation of said door comprising an interconnected arrangement of at least two sprockets respectively operatively connected to said door and to said limit switch means such that a rotational position of said sprockets reflects a positional condition of said door and a corresponding condition of said limit switch means, one said sprocket being supported on said motor shaft in a position adjacent said friction disc means of a clutch means, said means being operatively effective to cause selective driving engagement between said motor shaft and said one sprocket only during an interval of motor powering operation of said door but not during an interval of hand operation thereof, whereby during said interval of door hand operation each positional condition of said door continues to produce a corresponding condition in said limit switch means as a result of rotation of said sprockets to thereby obviate the need for resetting of said limit switch means preparatory to a succeeding interval of motor powering operation of said door.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein said sprockets are interconnected by circumferentially spaced bolt means arranged in a clearance position about said clutch friction disks.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Teel 49-.140 X Stevens 74625 X Smith 160-488 X Greegor 160133 White et a1. 49-140 X DENNIS L. TAYLOR, Primary Examiner 

